Libyan parliament names defense minister interim PM

TRIPOLI, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan parliament on Tuesday named the defense minister as interim prime minister after former PM Ali Zeidan lost a confidence vote, the parliament spokesman said.

Abdullah al-Thani will act as interim prime minister for two weeks until a replacement for Zeidan is found.

Zeidan was ousted amid disputes between the central authorities and powerful tribes in oil-rich eastern regions over oil exportation.

A parliament member told Xinhua that "Zeidan was sacked as 124 members in the 200-seat parliament voted against him and al-Thani will lead the interim government until a new prime minister is chosen."

Zeidan's government has been repeatedly blamed for unable to restore control of the North African country after a popular uprising ended the 42-year rule of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 which created power vacuum especially in militias-dominated eastern regions.

The prime minister was once briefly abducted by rebels in Tripoli last October.

His ouster was triggered by disputes on whether or not local governments in the eastern regions should independently export oil.

The Libyan navy and militias loyal to the central authorities took over an oil tanker that was marked with a North Korean flag near port al-Sidra on Monday, a security source told Xinhua.

The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that "Navy and boats belonging to (pro-government) militias managed to close in on the oil tanker 'Morning Glory' on Monday evening, boarding and taking control of it."

He added that navy and the pro-government forces guided the tanker to Port Misrata immediately afterwards.

The autonomous government of Cyrenaica had earlier announced its intentions to sell oil from the tanker to international markets, without the approval from central authorities, a move that angered officials in Tripoli who called the act "piracy" and threatened to use military force to prevent any exports.